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MaameYaa Boafo (pronounced "Mah-Mih-Yah Bwafoh") is a Pakistan-born Ghanaian actress and comedian.
MaameYaa Boafo | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Ghanaian |
| Alma mater | Hood College Rutgers University 2009 Marc Bloch University |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, comedian |
| Years active | 2012–present |
Boafo was born in Pakistan.[1] She is of Ashanti (Ghanaian) ethnicity.[2] She was raised in Sudan, Ethiopia, Geneva and Kenya, but is a citizen of Ghana.[3][1] In 2001, after graduating from high school, Boafo travelled to the United States to study French and communication.[1]
After graduating from Hood College in 2015, she received a scholarship to study acting at Rutgers University and earned her master's degree in 2019.[4] Boafo did a study abroad semester at Marc Bloch University in Strasbourg, France.[1]
Boafo made her acting debut as Asa in the 2012 short film Asa, A Beautiful Girl.[5] In 2014, Boafo began portraying Nana Yaa in Nicole Amarteifio's web TV series An African City. Her character is a journalist who struggles to afford rent in Accra, analogous to Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City. Boafo noticed the role on a Facebook page, and because she was travelling she sent a videotaped audition to Amarteifio, who called a week later.[6]
In 2014, she starred in Bus Nut, an experimental short film in which she read the words from the trial of Rosa Parks. It premiered at the San Francisco Film Festival.[1]
In 2015, Boafo had a small role in The Family Fang. She appeared in the short films New York, I Love You and Olive in 2016.[7] From 2017 to 2018, she starred as Paulina in the play School Girls, which was inspired by Mean Girls.[8]
Boafo was nominated for the Lucille Lortell Award and the Los Angeles Drama Circle Award for best actor, and received the Drama Desk award for her performance.[9] She played HIV patient Abena Kwemo in a 2018 episode of Chicago Med.[10] In 2019, she played private investigator Briana Logan in the TV series Bluff City Law.[9] Boafo portrayed Zainab in the TV series Ramy in 2020.[11]
Boafo made a video in reaction to the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore titled "As Nina", as she reportedly bears a resemblance to the late singer Nina Simone.[1] In addition to English, she speaks Twi.[2]
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Asa, A Beautiful Girl | Asa Kolawole | Short film |
| Tied & True | Roda | ||
| Azure II | |||
| 2014 | When It All Falls Down... | Dominique | |
| Bus Nut | |||
| 2015 | The Family Fang | College student | |
| 2016 | New York, I Love You | Viviane | Short film |
| Olive | Ava Nuyame | ||
| 2017 | Where Is Kyra? | Casey | |
| The Blue Car | Mother | Short film | |
| Ibrahim | Aminata |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–2018 | Thru 25 | Cassie | 10 episodes |
| 2014 | Madam Secretary | Komoyo | Episode: "The Call" |
| An African City | Nana Yaa | Main cast | |
| 2014–2015 | Deadstar | Charice | 2 episodes |
| 2015 | American Odyssey | Desk clerk | Episode: "Bug Out" |
| The Blacklist | Lucinda | Episode: "Marvin Gerard (No. 80)" | |
| The Mysteries of Laura | Kimmie | Episode: "The Mystery of the Maternal Instinct" | |
| 2016 | Conversating While Black | Renee | TV Pilot |
| Beyond Complicated | Camilla | Episode: "As Told By Her 103" | |
| 2017 | Iron Fist | Female receptionist | Episode: "Snow Gives Way" |
| 2018 | Chicago Med | Abena Kwemo | Episode: "Mountains and Molehills" |
| 2019 | Theater Close Up | Paulina | Episode: "School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play" |
| Bluff City Law | Briana Johnson | Main cast | |
| 2020 | Ramy | Zainab | Recurring (season 2) |
| 2021–2022 | The Mysterious Benedict Society | Rhonda Kazembe | Main cast |
| 2023 | Extrapolations | Lucy Adobo | Episode: "2070: Ecocide" |
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